So as finals exams and essays begin to creep up on me (70-ish pages to write in the next month), these link-o-rama posts are going to become essential until the school year is up, so you know, I encourage you to read them closely.

Aryz has a solo show coming up in San Fransisco at Upper Playground’s Fifty24SF. David Choe is a fan, and says that it’s gonna be a “feeding frenzy” with collectors wanting to buy out the show 100x over even before anyone has seen the work.

Of course, if you’re looking for something you can get your hands on, I’m loving this print from Unga.

Ron English recently released a monochrome grey version of his Temper Tot figure on his website.

GrafRank is an attempt to graph the popularity of street artists and graffiti writers online using data from flickr. Interesting idea, but they need your feedback to make sure they are getting things right.

A Warning From the Editor: This interview is intended for mature audiences only. If you are not at least 18 years old, you shouldn’t read this. Or if you are at your office. Or you are my parents. This interview is definitely definitely definitely Not Safe For Work. There’s nudity, strong language and insults. Some people will find the visuals and/or text of this article offensive, vulgar and insulting. Others will find it hilarious. Personally, I think this might be my favorite interview we’ve ever had on Vandalog, but we take no responsibility for what Lush says. The views expressed are his own, and may or may not be the opinions of the Vandalog staff. So yeah, that’s your warning label. Consider yourself warned and proceed with caution. If you do choose to read the rest of this post, be prepared to laugh your ass off.

What can I say about Lush? If you think the South Park writers are too tame, Lush might be just the artist you’ve been looking for. If you think street artists are a bunch of pussies, Lush is definitely your man. I’d say that this graffiti writer out of Melbourne is taking the art world hostage, except that he’s not the type to take prisoners. He’d probably collect the ransom money and then shoot everyone in the head just for kicks. Lush seems to think that graffiti is too cutesy these days, so he’s pushing the limits of taste. In fact, it looks like he intentionally goes beyond those limits for the sake of being distasteful. Like graffiti is supposed to be. And, often times, his pieces are funny as hell too. Nobody is safe from Lush’s attacks: he goes after street artists, graffiti writers and even celebrities with unparalleled balls and cleverness (and I wouldn’t be surprised if blogs, including this one, end up a target as well). His first gallery show opened last year in Melbourne, and I loved what I saw. Now Lush is in California preparing for solo shows in LA and SF. The LA show opens this Friday. I sent a few questions over to Lush via email. Check out his unedited responses, plus some of his NSFW pieces and photographs, after the jump… Read the rest of this article »

Last night might have been my busiest 1st Thursday ever, and I didn’t even stop off everywhere I wanted to. Either way, I’ll have to go back to a few galleries this week to actually look at the art properly. Even with a cursory glance though, the Charming Baker show was the highlight by a mile. I’m not sure how sustainable it is to sell paintings at the prices they sold for last night, but damn it looked good. Here’s a few things I could have posted about last night, had I not been out being a gallery-hopping scenester…

Escif and San are traveling around the West coast in before for their upcoming show at Fifty24SF. The show, See You In Croatan, opens on June 30th. The Citrus Report has all the info. Until the opening, the two Spanish artists are driving around the West coast checking out the USA and doing some painting. Here is some of what they’ve been up to…

Swampy, one of the craziest writers/artists/travelers in North America as far as I can tell, has a solo show opening next month at UpperPlayground’s Fifty24SF Gallery in San Fransisco. In My Room opens June 11th, and I can’t express how excited I am about this show. That’s all for now, but hopefully I’ll have more news soon.

Erica Il Cane has a show, We Were Living in the Woods, opening in San Fransisco next Thursday at FIFTY24SF. Should be an interesting show. I go back and forth on Erica Il Cane’s art, but when I see his watercolors in person, I tend to fall in love with it all over again. Here’s a teaser:

One of the most diverse and prolific artists working today, David Choe combines American and Asian pop culture, graphic novels, and cityscapes to produce some of the most dynamic work and explosive work of his generation.

His often lewd expressions of the female form are honest appreciations of the male/female sexual interaction. Erratic brushwork and wild compositions convey a superficial sense of anarchy while the delicate and exotic portraits betray chaos, revealing a passionate love of women. In Choe’s work, discordance and serenity exist in impossible harmony. His paintings are testament to the fact that the gritty and the offensive are often necessary constituents of raw beauty.

David’s disinterest in social approval allows him to exist in a realm of indulgence. Whether painting murals, canvases, or quick street pieces, the raw honesty element drives deep into the psyche of the viewer. A subliminal stirring of still waters, his paintings are engaging in a way that cannot always be justified as simply, aesthetically pleasing.

A seasoned globetrotter, David Choe’s murals cover walls from his native Los Angeles to Vietnam. His fine art has seen exhibitions in London, Beijing, Los Angeles, New York, and San Franciso. His intricate brush strokes and characters have made their way into commercial projects as well, working with Marvel Comics, Levis, and Nike. His art, photos, and writing have been featured in Giant Robot, Hustler, Juxtapoz, and Vice magazines. He also self-published three comic/journals: Bruised Fruit, Cursiv and Slow Jams. Most recently, he was featured in the documentary about his work “Dirty Hands.”

“Character Assassination” features new works on display at FIFTY24SF Gallery February 5 – March 24, 2010. The opening reception will be on Friday, February 5th from 7:00PM – 9:30PM.

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